that a lot of the assad military are using weapons they've got from iran. is that true? and how long will you continue to support assad given the appalling conditions, the humanitarian catastrophe that we are all watching? at what point do you, the president of iran, say enough of this violence? >> translator: i do believe that we must all say enough of this violence right now. six months ago, i said enough of this violence. our opinion, vis-a-vis the issue of syria and other nations, is completely clear. we do believe that freedom, the right to choose, the right to vote, respect and justice is the fundamental right of all people. all people must obtain these rights. no one has the right to restrict a people and nation, but we believe as a friend of nations, we must help the nations around the world to obtain these rights through peaceful paths, through peaceful actions, and we have worked hard. i am now hard at work to organize a contact group in order to bring the two sides into a point of national agreement. >> mr. president, do you condemn the level of violence that president ass

forethier for this season. >> he was part of syrian president assad's brutal regime and now he's talking to cnn. >> how did assad's behavior change? >> translator: he seemed worried all day long. we rarely saw him smiling. he stared out the windows and was always anxious and tense. >> the tearian press officer give as firsthand account of what is happening inside the government. "homemade" yummy, scrumptious bars. hmm? i just wanted you to eat more fiber. chewy, oatie, gooeyness... and fraudulence. i'm in deep, babe. you certainly are. [ male announcer ] fiber one. i'm in deep, babe. you certainly are. ♪ (train horn) vo: wherever our trains go, the economy comes to life. norfolk southern. one line, infinite possibilities. if we want to improve our schools... ...what should we invest in? maybe new buildings? what about updated equipment? they can help, but recent research shows... ...nothing transforms schools like investing in advanced teacher education. let's build a strong foundation. let's invest in our teachers so they can inspire our students. let's solve this. side by sid

fighting bashar al assad, that may be a new strategy on the part of romney as opposed to the obama administration which has been totally reluctant to arm any of the rebels in syria fearing those weapons could wind up in the hands of the so-called terrorist, the bad guys, if you will. that's a clear differentiation, but i think from the american political perspective, there's no great desire to get involved militarily on the ground or in the air for that matter in syria or elsewhere. >> all right. well, thank you very much. appreciate it. of course, we're fwog bring in fareed zakaria to talk about this. fareed in new york. of course, you were watching this as well, and one of the points that you brought up is that these two leaders, these two men really see eye to eye on a lot of foreign policy issues. the only one that we really heard that was different was what you had actually talked about and that was romney's stance on arming the syrian rebels. how does the united states go about doing that, because we know the obama administration even learning in the "new york times", they're

who share our values and then assure they have the arms they need to defeat assad's tanks and helicopters and fighter jets. >> that takes some talking. the former nato sprum allied commander is supporting the campaign and to the right is kristen silverberg, am bass tor to the union. before today, mitt romney had not specifically called for arming the rebels and this country is really not too keen on it and nor are they too opposed, it seems. if you look at it, 48% favor doing so. 47% oppose doing so, but this is new from mitt romney. but how are we supposed to know who the good guys are, who the bad guys are and is he suggesting for a moment that america send the guns? >> no, what governor romney outline ed today was a plan to work with the region, turkey, the saudis, to make sure they have a weapons they need. the two things we hear, first from the opposition groups themselves, that they don't have the weapons they need to overthrow assad and second from our partners in the region, that they feel constrained by u.s. policy from doing things to support the rebels. and that's r

opposition who share our values and then ensure that they obtain the arms they need to beat assads tanks and helicopters. >> five people who share our values, what does that mean? and then work to obtain that they have arms? what does that mean? >> well, to be honest, there's no real difference between that and the president's position as well. the question is, how over are you going to do this? and i gave a, you can defeat assad tank and helicopters by supplying arms to this group of rebels. that's not realistic. if you're going to talk about leadership and america's leadership in the world, you have to admit that syria's defenses are far superior to any of the countries that we've seen toppled so easily, such as libya, for instance. so you can't just assert leadership by saying, i'm going to be your leader. you have to say what you're going to do and how it's going to be different from the leader that you are criticizing. that's what we didn't see from syria or today in what he said about iran either because he talks tough on iran, not clear how anything, anything he's proposed would b

assad's tanks, helicopters and fighter jets. nbc's first read pointing out that reports of cia doing something covertly like this in syria. so something going on as we speak. the u.s. government did this with libya. basically arming the opposition. and you know, your men ri's men ri is only my friend for so long. is that a wise approach? >> no. i have spent time on this issue. there's no doubt providing nonlethal communication support is extraordinary important and secretary clinton announced massive amount of humanitarian assistance and ku dos to the administration for doing that. the real problem here is that there's this struggle within the romney campaign itself over syria between neo-conservatives to militarily intervene and those who actually are more reticent and the problem is that mr. romney flip flops between one group and the other and can't quite decide which one is more important. the bottom line, however, for purposes of american interest in the middle east, arming a rag tag group of rebels at this point in time is inconsistent with understanding when's going to emerge

turkey and syria. yesterday syrian activists predict that the assad regime will fall. this was held by the u.s. institute of peace, and it is close to two hours. >> good morning. in jim marshall, the new president of the institute of peace, which i am delighted to tell you, and i am pleased everyone is here for an import -- to hear about and the port project that has been sponsored by the institute for peace. my job is to introduce steve heideman. he has directed the center for democracy and civil studies -- civil society at georgetown. he -- he is a terrific asset for the institute. this project is driven by syrians, with technical assistance and other kinds of assistance from the institute and a sister institute in germany. it is important these efforts are driven by local populations, things that are handed down from the united states did not work all that well. we are pleased that you are here. i hope you have lots of questions, and if i can turn this over to you -- >> thank you para much, and let me add my welcome to you. we are delighted to see you here this morning. it will be a

remove syria's president, bashar al-assad, by being an ally to the regime at the united nations and providing vital fuel to power assad's crackdown. indeed, as an aging fidel castro of cuba fades from visibility, chavez has supplanted him as the united states' nearest foe. and on the other side, running against chavez is david. for the first time, the typically fractured opposition has united around a challenger, henrique capriles radonski, a telegenic former governor of the populous state of miramba 18 years chavez's junior. >> ( translated ): and i say to the people of venezuela, you judge who is in the process of change and who has become sick from power, because he who is now in the palace has defrauded the venezuelan people. >> suarez: often clad in a baseball cap bearing venezuela's national colors, the redbull- drinking 40-year-old markets himself as a modern leftist, someone who can balance free market incentives with the country's social wfare programs, like brazil. and he's struck a chord. in february's primary, he took 64% of the more than three million votes cast among f

brooke baldwin. the news is now. >>> a man close to bashar al assad's regime defects. and speaks to cnn. >> translator: he seemed worried all day long. we rarely saw him smiling. >>> plus, a consulate's attacked, an ambassador is killed, and this lawmaker wants answers. jason chaffetz joins me live, fresh off his trip to libya. >>> and the magic johnson tells me about an in-home test that could save your life. jack, you're a little boring. boring. boring. [ jack ] after lauren broke up with me, i went to the citi private pass page and decided to be...not boring. that's how i met marilyn... giada... really good. yes! [ jack ] ...and alicia. ♪ this girl is on fire [ male announcer ] use any citi card to get the benefits of private pass. more concerts, more events, more experiences. [ jack ] hey, who's boring now? [ male announcer ] get more access with the citi card. [ crowd cheering, mouse clicks ] ♪ playing a lone hand ♪ my life begins today ♪ ♪ fly by night away from here ♪ ♪ change my life again ♪ ♪ fly by night, goodbye my dear ♪ ♪ my ship isn't coming ♪ and i

opposition who share our values. and then ensure that they obtain the arms they need to defeat assad's tanks and helicopters and fighter jets. iran is sending arms to assad because they know his downfall would be a strategic defeat for him. we should be working no less vigorously through our international partners to support the many syrians who would deliver that defeat to iran, whether sitting on the sidelines. it is essential that we develop influence with those forces in syria that will one day lead a country that sits at the heart of the middle east. >> mitt romney is saying, arm the rebels. again, the question being how well do we know them, how do we know which rebels we should be arming, that's the question for you. >> the wording there is interesting. he's not saying i believe the united states should arm the rebels, he's saying we want to make sure that they obtain rebels with the help of our partners and some would argue, look, the vetting of these rebel groups is being done already by the obama administration. there are reports of a cia presence there at the border already

people to help force assad out of power a year after president obama said, we want assad out of power. he has substantive things to talk about on the debate stage when they debate foreign policy in two weeks and that ad is now irrelevant. >> don't you think this is a case of him saying, i'll do the things the president is trying to do but do them more effectively? >> there's a fair case to make and there's an opening for that. >> i agree. i'm not saying that's a bad thing. >> there's an opening the size of a pin drop. he didn't lay out his strategy for peace in israel. on iran, the best he could come up with was, i'm going to get tougher on iran because i'm going to have tougher sanctions. >> when barack obama came to office, he said, i'm not george w. bush, so therefore, i can negotiate with iran. >> he said he would open up all doors but he wasn't going to give you a seat at the table unless you wanted to come and talk peace. >> we have unsolicited advice on the other side of the break including helpful hints for donald trump. stay with us. ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] its lightweight con

. they believed blasts were caused by car bombs. violence between rebels and assad continues to rise. angie goff, news 4. >>> this could be one of the most crucial days of the election. president obama and mitt romney will face off tonight in their first presidential debate. it will take place at this hockey arena in denver. romney has spent the past few days in the mile high city preparing for tonight. he took a break yesterday for lunch at chipotle. the president has been preparing in nevada. he visited the hoover dam. both campaigns now how crucial tonight's debate is. >> i think it's an opportunity for governor romney to flush out these issues face to face with president obama and there's no opportunity for the obama campaign to twist his message or his past words. >> he's very good at explaining what's going on, what he's proposing, what he has done. and i don't think there's anything to worry about. >> president obama and mitt romney will face off in two more debates, the next one is a week from tomorrow in danville, kentucky. president obama may be ahead in the polls in mean s

. also, rare access into the syrian president bashar al assad's inner circle. a one-time insider sits down with cnn, admits covering up crimes and so much more. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." >>> this just coming into "the situation room" as we await our interview with mitt romney, we have brands new poll numbers from one of the most crucial battleground states in the country certainly on the cnn electoral college map, ohio. both presidential candidates will be there today. and look at this. romney's catching up dramatically. president obama's still ahead 51% to 47%. but his four-point lead falls now within the poll's sampling error. the president had a nine-point lead in our most recent poll of polls in ohio, which was completed just before last week's presidential debate in denver. our chief national correspondent john king is joining us from the state capital of columbus right now. john, you're taking a closer look at the new numbers in this ohio poll. what are you seeing? >> reporter: wolf, if you had any doubt the first debate gave governor romney a significant

assad, turkey flip support to the rebels. and now provides a safehane for fighters. >> -- safe haven for fighter fighters. the wail of ambulances signals more wounded rebels coming from life-saving treatment in turkey. much of the ammunition and weapons use in the rebel street to street combat comes across the same border, flowing in to syria. unverifiable amateur video shows the civil war intensifying. with rebels celebrating capture of syrian army checkpoint and commandeering armored personnel carrier. what the larger battle comes increasing death toll. estimated 200 in the past two days. the international community is reluctant to intervene militarily in the syrian civil war but the artillery exchanges between syria and turkey could easily escalate to a regional war. bringing in nato. but it may not end there. as the syrian regime enjoyed uncontinue support from russia and iran. bret? >> bret: leland vittert in our middle east newsroom. thank you. >>> up next, why is the number 716 billion so importantbe in this presidential race? later, the small ball politics of big bird. begin.

and assure they attain the arms they need to defeat assad's tanks, helicopters and fighter jets. >> hey, peter, you were with him all weekend and we did see a decision by the romney campaign to include in the governor's stump more personal stories. of just ways that he worked with members of for instance of his community in boston. >> yeah, i think that's right. three times in all of the events held in florida. obviously as our viewers have seen, he has largely resisted this as a democrat would say. here though, it seems like there's a genuine sense of confidence, a reinvigorated campaign. you experience that when you talk to the crowds as well. it appears to be contagious to the candidate himself. in the past, we saw crowds that were largely anti obama more than pro romney. after the debate performance, they appear to be behind mitt romney and that seems to be fuelling him giving him more confidence to tell his own story. >> mr. alexander, we'll see you on the trail. thank you, sir. >>> well, mitt romney is hoping to amplify his criticisms of the administration's middle east po

there's any desire to get into a proxy war. >> indeed. michael, the president urges assad to step down. he supports arab efforts in their opposition to the syrian government. given the instability of libya and egypt, isn't the president's cautious approach to syria the right one unless, and i repeat, unless we want to get involved in another war? >> hi, martin. well, to be honest with you, i think there is a fairly narrow range of disagreement between the two men here because, as you know, if we think about this kind of a war and we think of all of our range of possible interventions, providing or asking our allies to provide a few more weapons is a relatively modest step along the spectrum. we're not talking about american planes creating a no-fly zone in the romney speech. we're not talking about creation of any kind of a humanitarian protected ground zone up in the north -- >> but, michael, i'm sorry to interrupt you, mike, but we wouldn't expect any details from this man because he never gives us any. t the overarching theme is he wants a new approach. not the approach being e

men, women, and children have been massacred by the assad regime over the past 20 months. we can't support our friends and defeat our enemies in the middle east when our words are not backed up by deeds. i'll put the leaders of iran on notice that the united states and our friends and allies will prevent them from acquiring nuclear weapons capability. no friend of america will question our commitment to support them. no enemy that attacks america will question our resolve to defeat them. and no one anywhere, friend or foe, will doubt america's capability to back up our words. >> well, you got to wonder about that guy. we should have stayed longer in iraq, open-ended conflict in afghanistan. regardless of the fact we know little about them and onto iran and talks of a red line that almost guarantees conflict. if you want clarity in what a romney presidency would look like don't ask the candidates's own porn -- foreign policy. advisers say they have engaged with him so little on issues of national security they are uncertain what camp he would fall into and are uncertainly themselves

where more than 30,000 men, women and children have been massacred by assad regime over the past 20 months. violent extremists are flowing into the fight. our ally turkey has been attacked and the conflict threatens stability in the region. america can take pride in the blows that our military and intelligence professionals have inflicted on al qaeda in pakistan and afghanistan including the kill of usama bin laden. these are real achievements won at a high cost. al qaeda remains a strong force however in yemen and somalia, in libya, and other parts of north africa, in iraq and now in syria and other extremists have gained ground across the region. drones and modern instruments of war are important tools in our fight but they are no substitute for a national security strategy for the middle east. the president is fond of saying that the tide of war is receding and i want to believe him as much as anyone else but when we look at the middle east today, with iran closer than ever to nuclear weapons capability, with the conflict in syria threatening to destablize the region and with vio

. i think that's a significant red line. if the assad forces were to do that, i think that would precipitate much bigger crisis and draw from the united states. barring that or major attack on turkey, i think we're in a gruesome ugly stalemate. dagen: for how long? >> it could drag on for a year, two years, yes. connell: we mentioned at the top the impact on the presidential election here in the united states would be. you think it will be kind of status quo through november and beyond. >> i think so. again, providing the rebels with things like shoulder fire missiles that could take down the government's helicopter gunships, that would be potentially a game changer, but barring that, if we don't up the supply to the rebels they have enough to stay in the game but not enough to do a big kill on the assad government. dagen: what about the overall picture for oil production in the middle east? i mean you mentioned the outlook for iraq. but are we in this area where you think we'll be at $90 a barrel for months and months, maybe even years? >> you know, we look at next year and we s

the rebels on one side wanting president assad gone and the government on the other side continuing to fight its own people. this group of extremists that has now come on means, jon, if in the future assad does decide to leave power, the civil war could easily continue between the rebels where local syrians want a better life for themselves and their country and the jihadists who clearly want an islamic state inside syria. jon, back to you. jon: leland vittert, thank you. jenna: flying dragon now on its way to international space station. remaining on course despite a problem with an engine. the game of changing mission and what happened specifically with that engine. what went wrong there? >>> plus, a mission in the other direction. right now a daredevil sky diver is getting ready the to jump from a balloon 23 miles above the earth. why, you ask? we'll tell you next. [ male announcer ] at scottrade, you won't just find us online, you'll also find us in person, with dedicated support teams at over 500 branches nationwide. so when you call or visit, you can ask for a name you know. b

surprised that assad is still in power? >> no. i was just in damascudamascus. he is not having any major significant defections. the center of the capital and quite a number of the suburbs around it are untouched by war and still a large percent of the population that don't support him, they are very concerned of the alternative. so, no, i think he is pretty solid right now. >> nic robertson, thanks. nice to see you here at home, at least home for us. and you too sometimes. >> it is. >> where do you live, anyway? >> i live in london, but my wife and daughters are all u.s. citizens. >> welcome, nic. have a good time here. >>> mitt romney stole the spotlight last night but will a strong debate performance be enough to win the white house? our panel weighs in next. i don't spend money on gasoline. i am probably going to the gas station about once a month. last time i was at a gas station was about...i would say... two months ago. i very rarely put gas in my chevy volt. i go to the gas station such a small amount that i forget how to put gas in my car. [ male announcer ] and it's not just th

. [gunfire] well the intended targets appear to be syrian army officers and assad regime security forces. leland vittert is live in our middle east bureau with the latest. leland? >> reporter: gregg, this really shows how sophisticated these attacks are becoming. these bombings were sophisticated on number of levels, happening within minutes of each other, well-coordinated. not only that, the bombers were able to get in a very secure part of aleppo near the syrian headquarters. lastly the bombs themselves were well-made and clearly devastating in their effect. images coming from syrian state tv shows the same kind of damage to full blocks of aleppo in the government controlled areas. same kind of damage we're seeing in the rebel controlled areas coming from those deadly attacks with certainian -- syrian artillery. this points much more to jihadist movements rather than homegrown rebel fighters, fighters coming out of places like libya and iraq with expertise and also al qaeda linkage what we're seeing here in syria. this fits much more with the syrian government narrative going fo